Polar Night
by browneyedshield
Summary: After Edward and Bella return from their honeymoon, the Cullens plan to get rid of Bella's little nudger. Scared and not willing to let that happen, she runs from Forks and her family. How will they reunite and deal with the problems that they now face? Breaking Dawn AU. Canon Couples.
1. Preface

**Disclaimer - All rights belong to Stephanie Meyer.**

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Preface

 _Bella_

"I'll be right back, love. It's just a quick hunting trip." I had heard those words before from the person I lived for; the person who held my life in his strong, marble hands, yet it was different from every other time. Usually I was already wishing for him to be back, but this time I didn't want him anywhere near me. Not when he wanted to hurt my precious, little nudger.

I looked up at his god-like face and winced. His golden eyes weren't deep and warm like I remembered, they were cold and hard and the matching strain in his features made him look in pain. He bent down and kissed my forehead, glancing at my swollen stomach, before quickly turning away so I couldn't see his sudden rage at the sight of our baby.

"I'm not leaving!" Rosalie hissed from across the room, glaring at my Edward.

"Rose, you should hunt before the procedure." Carlisle warned, touching her shoulder. I had to stop myself from screaming at him. How could the man that I considered a father call killing my baby a procedure? Getting rid of my little nudger was not a surgery or something he could fix; it was his family. Though the rest of the family - except Rosalie - agreed, it was too dangerous for me to carry Edward's child.

"I want her to stay," I spoke up, causing everyone to look at me. Ever since Edward and I had returned from our honeymoon, my relationship with Rosalie had improved miraculously, much to Edward's annoyance. She defended my decision to keep the baby, but the two of us against the other six was an impossible fight. They were going to force us to back down at some point.

"Fine," Edward gritted his teeth, locking his jaw. He was gone seconds later, speeding into the woods without a second glance in our direction, with everyone but Rose following behind him. I realized that would be my last time seeing him since I didn't know what the future held, but it wasn't going to be what he wanted. I had to leave my husband and my family, but it was to save my baby.

Rose helped me to my feet and our plan sprung into action. She sped across the room and upstairs, gathering everything I needed in seconds. She carried a suitcase and rucksack into the garage, placing them into the trunk of Edward's Volvo.

"Everything you need is in the car. A map to our house in Vancouver, money, clothes, and everything else."

"You really can't come with me?" I didn't sound hopeful, I already knew the answer.

"I'm sorry, Bella." Her beautiful face genuinely looked upset. "I can't leave Emmett, even if he did agree with Edward."

"What are you going to tell them?"

"I'll make up some excuse. Tell them I decided to go hunting after all and when I came back, you were gone." She paused, looking down at my stomach. "I guess it's a good thing Alice can't see you because of the baby or this wouldn't have worked." She placed her hands on my stomach, making the baby kick me crazy.

"He likes you," I grinned. "He's kicking."

"You really think it's a boy?" Rosalie asked, smiling at me.

I nodded. "I think I'll call him Edward Jacob. E.J for short."

"I like that. What if he is a she?"

I blushed at my unusual choice. "I'll name her Renesmee, then."

"Huh?" Her eyebrows creased, looking confused.

"I was playing around with Renee and Esme and that's what I came up with. Too weird?"

"Yeah," She nodded, making me frown. "But it's one of a kind and he or she is too, so it fits."

I got in the car, realizing that the others would be back soon. It was now or never.

"Goodbye, Bella." Rosalie whispered after hugging me. "I hope we see each other again."

I nodded, but didn't reply and instead started the engine, not trusting my voice with the sudden load of tears that were threatening to take over my body. I looked in the mirror as Rosalie watched me drive away, until eventually she and the Cullens' house was out of view. I drove on the 101 highway for a moment, before turning left on the 110 to La Push. I couldn't do this alone.

The small, wooden, red barn-like house brought a smile to my face as soon as I could see it. Jacob was already outside, waiting on me. I guessed that with his werewolf hearing, the sound of my driving had tipped him off. I turned the engine of the Volvo off and paused, taking in his appearance. His coal black hair had grown to his shoulders, his lips were pressed into a hard line, and his arms were folded across his muscled chest.

I stumbled over the uneven ground until I reached him, glad that I was wearing a baggy sweatshirt that hid my bump.

"I'm surprised you're not a leech yet," he smirked slightly, the explosion after our last conversation at the wedding seemed forgotten.

"Jacob," I gulped. "I'm not here for a casual meeting. I'm leaving Forks and I want you to come with me."

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 **A/N: This was just a short introduction, other chapters will be longer. Please review! It will make me update faster.**


	2. Bittersweet

Chapter One

 _Bella_

The sound of the melodious chirping birds and my feet crushing the old, yellow and brown leaves were the only things to be heard in the woods. The beginning of winter in Vancouver was kicking in, making the air colder than usual, though I knew it still held no match against my icy temperature. The wind picked up, spreading a new range of scents across the land. I took a deep breath, heading in the direction of what I craved.

The bobcat meters in front of me attacked its own prey, forcing the rabbit down and ending its life quickly. I gulped the venom gathering in my mouth hungrily. The aching pain in my throat was getting worse by the second and before I knew it, the animal was in my own strong hands, its neck crushed under my grip. I drank greedily, not wanting any more blood to be lost.

"Momma!" Renesmee approached quickly, making my head snap up. The crave for blood was still within me, but it was much less painful. I stood up and glanced at my clothes, pleased to see that they were still intact. The bronze curls on Renesme's head bounced around as she ran with Jacob, heading in my direction. I grinned at the sight of her fair skin in contrast with her flushed cheeks; it was hard to believe she was real sometimes.

"What's going on?" I asked, amused as I watched her bend down and gather some of the snow in her small hands, shaping it into a perfect round ball. She swung it back and threw it with so much force, hitting Jacob exactly in the face. "This is her first time seeing snow and she already knew what to do with it," I giggled, pulling Renesmee into my arms and kissing her forehead.

"I'll get you back, Nessie. Be careful," Jacob threatned, running beside us as we left the woods to go home. The Cullen mansion in Vancouver was just as glamorous as the one in Forks and similar in many ways. The three story house was secluded and far enough from the town that it ensured privacy for a coven of discrete vampires. The exterior was slightly old fashioned and gothic, structured with stone and granite, with a circular driveway, where Edward's Volvo was parked. However, inside the house was modern and open, with the same décor as the Forks house, brightened with light colours and various rooms that belonged to the couples. I often wondered if Alice and Esme had revisited the mansion in recent years to modernise it.

Thoughts of the Cullens made me wallow in my usual grief. I hadn't seen or spoken to any of them since I ran away that day three months ago. Edward didn't know I had actually survived the birth and that Renesmee existed, which meant that Rosalie had never revealed she helped me run. I was constantly worrying - or hoping - that one day they'd come here, that Rosalie would tell them where I was.

Though, Rosalie didn't know I was alive either. Maybe she thought I had died and she didn't want to tell them what she had done? After all, I had never contacted anybody to tell them I was here; alive - well not exactly, I'm technically dead - living and with Jacob. What about Charlie? Did he think I was dead? Had they held a funeral for me? Where the Cullens even still in Forks?

"Momma?" Renesmee interrupted my thoughts, running into my arms and placing her soft hand on my cheek. Suddenly, my mind was filled with her thoughts from the other night, when I had read her one of my books before she had fallen asleep. Her gift came as a complete surprise to me when she was born; she was just as talented as Edward, being able to show everyone any image or thought she wanted to. It was mostly how she communicated.

"You want me to read to you?" I asked, making her nod. She could speak and was probably just as vocal and intelligent as any grown adult, but her physical appearance, which was more advanced than her literal age, meant she preferred to act more appropriate to her seemingly small, two-year-old form. I turned to Jacob, following him to the kitchen.

"Jake, I'm taking her to bed," I explained, watching as he ate potato chips at the breakfast bar. He nodded and jumped up, kissing her forehead and wishing her a goodnight. I placed her down in the room she called her own, though I suspected it was previously Carlisle and Esme's. The walls were lined with books and the closet was stocked with what I thought were Esme's clothes.

Renesmee decided on 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' which I was more than happy to read for her. I loved her literature taste. She laid down and pulled me beside her, wrapping her arms around me as tight as she could. I began to read quietly, making her grin turn into a yawn.

"So, good night unto you all. Give me your hands, if we be friends, and Robin shall restore amends," I spoke, looking down to see that she was fast asleep with her head resting on my chest. I closed the book over and placed it on the floor gently, running my hands through her hair as I moved her hand onto my cheek. The image of myself from her view made me grin happily; she was dreaming of me.

"Goodnight, my sweet, little nudger," I whispered into the dark.

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 **A/N: I am SO sorry about how long this took. I think it has been around four months? I am going to continue this story, I just struggled with getting my idea across and how I'm going to explain it all. Anyway, more will be revealed in the next chapter. Please review and let me know if I'm doing a good/bad job! They make me want to write more.**


	3. Clash

Chapter Two

 _Bella_

"Found anything relatively new?" Jacob asked as he entered Carlisle's study, dressed in a simple jersey and sweats. He watched me type on the computer, looking for something that could help us. It was a routine for Jacob and I to research Renesmee and legends about vampires having children during the night. Most of it was fiction and completely made up, but we were desperate. Renesmee's growth continued at an alarming rate, four times faster than any human. It made us worry about the future, whether she would mature, grow old and die in a matter of twenty years. I couldn't bare to be trapped in this eternal life without her. It didn't make any sense to go through all the pain of leaving the Cullens and Edward in order to save her, just for her to die before us.

"No," I finally answered him with a sigh. "It's the same as every other night. We're getting nowhere." I thought back to when I was human - which was actually difficult to do since those memories were fading - when I had been researching Edward on a site called 'Vampires A-Z'. I realised now that it had told relatively some of the truth. The 'Stregoni Benefici' they had referred to bared some resemblance to Carlisle; a good vampire against evil ones. I quickly typed in the site address and scrolled though the page, looking for anything that described Renesmee.

Only one stood out to me. A 'Dhampir' was a child vampire, with human and vampire parents, that could tear entire villages and hundreds of towns apart within minutes. I thought back to the night Renesmee was born; when her venom had turned me into a vampire after she bit me. Jacob had lost all hope I would survive after the horrific birth and I had accepted that, not knowing that Renesmee was venomous. Although she bit me, I believed that in some way her small young form was wise and knew that without her help, I would have died.

"Well..." Jacob trailed off, reading the description over my shoulder. "I still think my theory is right."

"I need proof. I need to know she'll be with me forever. Your theory doesn't have that," I replied, putting my head in my hands. Vampires couldn't have migraines, but if they could, I would have one. Jacob believed that eventually Renesmee's growth would slow down and stop, which there was a sign of as she grew slower now than she did when she was born, but it wasn't enough. There still wasn't any evidence she would stop growing altogether. I measured her three times a day and I knew her growth was too fast.

"I think we should think of some new ways to find out information," Jacob announced, closing over the large book of Carlisle's research he was reading. "No more books or the internet. We've been at this for months, they're not helping."

"Yes, you're right," I huffed, turning from the computer to look at him. He was just as stressed and worried as I was. The dark circles under his eyes were getting bigger every night and the fact he barely slept to help me research didn't help. The imprint was really what held Jacob and Renesmee together; he was her protector just like I was. When I first woke up after my change, I had been shocked - even pissed - at the fact he had imprinted on my baby, but once I really listened to his explanation, I gained an understanding on what it really was.

"I have an idea," I spoke, suddenly remembering my honeymoon with Edward. "When I was in Brazil with Edward and found out I was pregnant, a local women seemed to know what he was and what was happening. She was Ticuna Indian and knew of legends on vampires having children. I could go to Brazil and find out more."

"Alone?" He asked, making me nod. "No, I don't think that's a good idea."

"Jake," I groaned. "I'm not human anymore. I can handle myself."

"I know that. But what about Renesmee?"

I groaned. What kind of a mother was I? In my sudden excitement of finally having a lead for some information on Renesmee, I forgot all about her. There was no way I would ever leave her behind, even if I did trust Jacob with her. I just couldn't handle the fear of not knowing she was safe. I also didn't want to risk Renesmee around too many humans. I knew she could deal with the temptation, but I didn't want to put her in that place. If she was to travel with me, she would be around too many in the airport and on the plane.

"There is one other option..." I trailed off, regretting my words immediately. Jacob was never going to like it.

"What?" He wondered, looking curious.

"We could go back to the Cullens. Alice and Jasper could travel to Brazil and look for us, while we could stay with Renesmee, it would be per-"

"Nope, absolutely not!" He interrupted, looking angry. "After everything they did. They didn't want Nessie-"

"Renesmee," I warned, cutting him off. He knew I hated that nickname.

" _Renesmee_ ," he corrected himself. "Who knows what would happen once they found out about her? It's too risky."

"She's my daughter. It's my choice."

"Are you saying I'm nothing to her?" I regretted my choice of words. His face crumbled and he stumbled back a few steps, his heartbeat slowing slightly. I opened my mouth to insist I never meant it that way, but he spoke before I could. "You know what - go now then!" He growled, shaking with anger. "I'll go back to Billy and the pack. We'll act like I never dropped my whole life to help you."

"Jake, you know I would never want that."

"Whatever," he grumbled, turning around to practically run up the stairs. I heard the door to one of the rooms slam shut and the sound of his music fill the space. I rolled my eyes and glanced at the clock. Renesmee still had hours left to sleep and I hoped he wouldn't wake her. I thought through my plan again. Jacob's argument didn't make sense. I knew the Cullens; I knew they would help and although I was nervous about telling Edward I survived and he had a daughter, I felt like it had to happen given the situation we were in.

With that thought in mind, I shook my nerves away and opened the glass door that led to the woods. I began to run and headed off in the direction of America - specifically Forks.


	4. Run or Return

Chapter Three

 _Bella_

It was just over an hour later when I reached Forks. I took a deep breath and circled the small area of the woods I had been pacing around for 28 minutes and 23 seconds. My brain could work at various things at the same time now that I was a vampire, meaning I could worry about the consequences of telling the Cullens I was still alive and count the amount of time I had been in Forks with no struggle. I considered running to Edward right this minute, but then immediately thought of something different. Thoughts like that could alert Alice I was here before I could decide whether to tell them.

My argument with Jacob replayed in my head with perfect recall, like a movie where I had noticed every detail and could recite both his words and my own exactly how they were said. My own beliefs started to crumble in my head. What if I didn't know the Cullens? I had certainly been wrong about their reaction to Renesmee when she was a baby, I'd have never guessed they would try to get rid of her without my permission.

What was to say it would be different now?

My human memories tugged at the edges of my brain, willing me to remember Carlisle's words about immortal children. I knew Renesmee wasn't one of them, but what was to say the Cullens would accept her when she physically resembled them so much? Carlisle's words ringed in my head - the story of the Denali's mother. It seemed like something the Volturi took very seriously, where it always ended in death for both the immortal child and anyone protecting it. Would this scare them away from Renesmee?

Another hour passed and I still hadn't decided. Jacob's words made sense to me now, but they still didn't feel right. I considered other plans for our trip to Brazil to ask the locals about the legends. I could perhaps risk waiting another couple of months, until Renesmee and I both felt completely comfortable around humans for a long duration of time. Although human blood was very tempting to me and I was still a newborn, I was surprisingly in control, but I had only really been around humans for short amounts of time and I didn't want to put anyone at risk, especially Renesmee. We could practice around the population of Vancouver before we went to Brazil, perhaps spend hours in the city every couple of days to build a tolerance to their scents.

But could I keep this huge secret any longer from Edward?

I knew that if - no, _when_ he eventually found out about Renesmee existing and I being alive, he would be angry. Not only because I stayed away from him after she was born, but because I could possibly be robbing them both of crucial time with each other. If Renesmee didn't stop ageing and turned out to not be immortal like us, I was wasting his memories with her. My stomach twisted in emotional pain with that thought. I shook my head and tried to will it out of my head, but of course it would always be there. Stupid vampire abilities.

Suddenly, the wind picked up and I could hear running in the distance. I glanced around and tried my hardest to hear, but it was coming from somewhere too far for my hearing to pick up. It sounded fast, certainly too fast for a human. Anxiety crippled through my body as I realised it could be one of the Cullens or even the wolves. I wasn't ready yet - I hadn't made my mind up whether to tell them.

Without a second glance at the clearing I had settled into for the past two hours, I took off running back in the direction I came. Jacob was going to be so pissed at me. I had messed up, I knew that now. There was no way I could just turn up at the Cullens and explain everything casually, what would I even say?

"Edward, I ran away from you because you tried to kill our daughter, but guess what? I didn't die and she's alive, _but_ wait maybe not for long."

 _Yeah, like that would have went over well._

Although Jacob told me to go back to Cullens and tell them, I knew he didn't think I would have done it. How was I going to tell him? I might have to if the Cullens detect my scent in that clearing, but I was hoping the rain would wash it away in time. If it didn't, I hoped that they wouldn't recognise it was mine or follow it. My scent now had some similarities to my human one, but maybe they would assume it was a nomad passing through.

I made it back in less than an hour, less time than it had taken me to get to Forks. I assumed it was because I felt like I was running for my life now. I ran quicker than I ever had before, pushing myself off trees to gain more speed. I wanted to make it back home while Jacob and Renesmee were still asleep so that they wouldn't realise I was gone. If Jacob didn't know I had left, then perhaps I wouldn't even have to tell him.

My hopes were crushed when I entered the side doors of the Cullens Vancouver home and found Jacob in the kitchen, eating cereal at the large table. It was still dark outside, thanks to the winter weather. Jacob purposely avoided my gaze as I watched him, instead he kept his head down and read the nutritional information on the back of his cereal box. I would have laughed had it not been a serious situation. I knew he wasn't reading it really, when had he ever cared about his nutritional needs? Werewolves didn't follow a diet or strict food limits, they literally ate like animals.

"Jake, can we talk?" I willed him to look at me, which he did. His dark brown eyes met mine, but they were almost black with how cold and hard they appeared. His expression made him look older, reminding me of the times when I was pregnant. He had been so stressed and worried over the possibility of me dying that he had mentally aged a lifetime. "I owe you an apology," I continued, realising I now owed him two. How was I going to explain Forks?

"S'kay, Bells." His eyes softened, making me really regret my decision to run to Forks. What had I been thinking? "I'm sorry as well. Let's just forget about it."

"Uh…" I trailed off, my bell-like voice cracked, making me sound like my previous human-self. "There's something else I need to admit."

"What?" Jacob asked, looking curious. "Where did you go last night anyway?" He put a large spoonful of cereal into his mouth.

"I went to Forks," I said quickly, rushing so that maybe he wouldn't hear, but of course he did. The spoon Jacob was holding dropped out of his hand like he forgot how to hold it, falling into the bowl below him with a loud clatter, sending the milk all over the table. "Jake!" I hissed, grabbing napkins to clean up, but he pushed me away without saying a word. I worried he was having a panic attack when his tanned complexion turned pale and his breathing became erratic. Minutes passed without him saying anything, while I felt horribly guilty.

"What did you tell them?" He asked slowly, like he was trying to control his breathing and heart rate. I could still hear it pulse unevenly.

"I didn't see them," I assured him. "I stayed at a clearing pretty far from their house for a couple of hours, then ran when I heard some people a couple miles away."

" _People_?" Jacob sounded doubtful. "People were that far into the woods at night in winter? They must have a death wish then," he laughed humorously, but I knew he was suspicious.

"Vampires, then. Or wolves," I suggested.

"How many vampires?" He demanded, ignoring the idea of the wolves.

"I can't be sure, they were too far for my hearing, but no more than three."

"Well, I guess we better hope the Cullens don't follow your scent." Jacob clenched his hands and took a deep breath, before cleaning the table and rinsing his bowl in the sink. "Do you hope that they don't follow your scent?" He asked cautiously, facing me while he leaned on the kitchen surface.

"Yes, I hope they don't. I've thought of another plan for Brazil," I didn't elaborate.

"What changed your mind?"

"Memories," I answered, bluntly. My thoughts trailed back to the story of the immortal children, but I was glad Jacob didn't push me about telling him what I was referring to. He didn't answer or follow as I left the kitchen and walked at a human pace to Renesmee's room. I wanted time to prepare myself to look like there was nothing worrying me. My daughter deserved a stress-free life, especially if it was going to be a short life.


	5. Hope

Chapter Four

Edward

"It doesn't make sense!" Alice hissed out loud, moaning as she ran her fingers through her short hair in stress. I didn't turn to pay attention to her or worry like the rest of my family did – I already knew what was bothering her. _Why can't I see properly?_ I heard Alice's main question in her head as flickers of our family home in Vancouver appeared in her visions. This meant that whatever future her visions were showing us wasn't concrete; that the outcome may change.

"What do you see, Alice?" Carlisle asked, though his thoughts told me he had a slight hope that it was something regarding Bella.

 _Bella._

It had been three months and fourteen days since she left us. My family – with the exception of Rosalie – and I had left to hunt before Bella's procedure that day, but when we returned she was gone. Rosalie explained that she had stepped out for no more than ten minutes to hunt as well, but that had given enough time for her to run. She had run away from me because she felt she had no other choice. I was the monster who had driven her away. All those years she had tried to convince me I wasn't evil, but now she knew I was. After I almost forced her into an abortion she didn't want.

"I can't explain it, but I'm seeing our house in Canada. It doesn't make sense," Alice repeated. She was curled into a ball in a corner of the living room, leaning against the window. Her recent visions since Bella left were giving her what Emmett called 'psychic headaches'. Anytime she looked for Bella's future, she was left with an unclear vision that told us nothing. Carlisle had tried to convince me that this was a good thing, that if Bella was dead – I shuddered – then she wouldn't be seeing anything. It didn't help to ease my pain over her absence; I had to know she was alive for certain.

"Should we check it out?" Emmett wondered.

"Why?" I finally spoke up, while my family failed to hide their surprised thoughts at the fact I had finally made any sort of clue I was listening to them. I realised that I hadn't spoken a word for at least a month – anytime Esme and Carlisle tried to convince me to hunt or speak to them, I would tune them out and continue to sit against one of the walls near the kitchen, slightly away from the rest of my family. From their thoughts, I knew how I looked; my clothes were wrinkled as I hadn't changed them since the day Bella left, the large, black bags under my eyes showed how thirsty I really was and my eyes showed them I was in pure emotional pain.

"Why not?" Emmett argued back. "You have to stop feeling sorry for yourself and get up. You can help us search for Bella."

"There's no use in searching the house in Canada, Bella won't be there. She didn't even know we had a house there. That's if she's not already dead," Rosalie growled from across the room, but her thoughts told me a different story. She struggled to recite one of her favourite books in Russian, instead she focused all her thoughts on doing this. Usually, my family did this when they wanted to hide something and I almost asked her why she was doing it, but I realised she was probably just concealing her hatred towards me. I knew she blamed me for Bella running away, after all I had been the one to convince Carlisle and the rest of my family to go along with the procedure against Bella's will.

"You don't know that," Jasper spoke up, but he was angled towards Alice, trying his hardest to care for her as she moaned in pain from more unclear visions. "Jacob went missing that day too. Perhaps he's with her? He could have saved her." My thoughts went back to that day when Bella had gone missing, when I frantically turned to the wolves for help. They had just discovered that Jacob had went missing as well. They explained that he was patrolling the woods in La Push one night and phased back to sleep for a couple of hours, but he never phased back. Jacob's father had seen him that morning, but after he had returned from fishing with Charlie, Jacob wasn't there anymore.

"Sam said Charlie had told Jacob about Bella being sick. Jacob probably assumed it was a cover up for us changing her and ran away to deal with his grief. I don't think he's with her," I explained, making my family once again gaze at me in shock. It was most I had spoken in months.

"It would explain why I can't see Bella clearly, though. Jacob could be blocking my visions," Alice suggested, taking a deep breath to calm herself. I knew from her thoughts how much pain she was truly in – it was like her own gift was failing in front of us.

"Perhaps we should hunt quickly, then return to searching for Bella," Carlisle suggested, making everyone apart from me nod in return. They were glad to leave the living room that felt overcrowded with all of us in it at once and quench their thirst. I didn't feel thirsty though, the only pain I felt was for the absence of Bella. It was the worst pain imaginable.

"Edward, why don't you join us?" Esme sounded hopeful, but I didn't reply. I went back to my previous statue state and didn't even glance at her. After a while, she turned and left with the rest of my family, while Carlisle comforted her over her worry about me. I wasn't the one they should be worrying about, though. All my worry, pain, stress and anxiety focused on Bella.

It was no more than thirty minutes later when a ringing in my pocket brought me out of my thoughts. I almost ignored it until I realised it could be an emergency so I quickly pulled it out of my pocket and glanced at the caller ID – It was Alice.

"Edward, we just came across a vampire's scent."

"And?" I snapped back. What did I care about a random scent? Nothing mattered to me unless it was regarding Bella. I almost hung up on Alice until she said her next words.

"Wait!" She hissed, seeing my intentions to end the call. "The scent sort of smells like Bella's and it's leading North. We want you to come check it out."

I didn't bother to reply. I snapped the phone shut and was out of the door before I could think what this possibly meant. Was Bella alive? How could it sort of smell like Bella's scent? It either was or wasn't. I followed Alice and Jasper's scent to a small clearing in the woods around 5 miles from our home. Carlisle and Esme were already there, while Rosalie and Emmett arrived at the same time I did.

"It's all over this clearing, seems like whoever it was walked around here for a while, maybe a couple of hours," Jasper explained, taking a deep breath to gather the smell.

"When?" I asked, walking to where he stood to catch it myself. I took a deep breath and was instantly hit with the fragrance of fresh freesia, which I connected to Bella's, but this scent wasn't mouth-watering and painful for me to inhale. It wasn't something I wanted to directly kill and drain the blood from as it had a sweet, almost cool touch to it, which was something distinct to vampires.

"It's faint, but it's still there. They were probably here around four or five hours ago," Jasper answered.

"We have to follow it," Emmett sounded determined, looking to me for permission.

I didn't know what to say. The aspect of the scent that was like Bella's spread pain across my body like fire. It was my fault she wasn't here with us and her family, but we I had to find her to apologise and explain my actions. I didn't want to admit it, but this new scent gave me a sense of hope that she was alive, even if it didn't make sense for her to be a vampire.

"Yes, we should," I finally agreed. Screw causing myself more pain, if there was any chance of this person being Bella, we had to follow it.

"What?" Rosalie hissed in anger. "We don't know who this vampire is! Sure, the scent smells like Bella's, but everyone will have someone in the world with a similar scent. We can't just follow it, what if it leads to another coven? We could be in danger," she rambled, once again thinking of translating her favourite book in Russian.

"There's seven of us, we'll be fine," I hissed back, the anger boiling in my body at her for crushing my hope.

"Alice, what do you see if we follow this scent?" Carlisle asked, stepping between Rosalie and me.

"Ugh, I don't know. It's unclear, almost blurry," she answered, her thoughts showed flashes of a house, once again our home in Canada.

"She's seeing the house in Vancouver," I explained. "This is further proof that we should follow the scent," I was almost begging now. "I don't know what's going on, but if there is even a slight chance that the scent is Bella's, we should follow it."

"I'm sorry, Rose." Carlisle turned to her, pleading with her to agree. "I agree," he said to her, making the decision for everyone. I knew from their thoughts that they all wanted to follow it, apart from Rosalie, who shook her head in disagreement, but followed despite her thoughts of doubt.

"Let's go," I announced, not hiding the hope in my voice as I took off in the direction the scent went.


End file.
